U.S. President Donald Trump has talked about the possibility of holding a third North Korea-U.S. summit before the year is out,... but he says it's NOT yet the right time for him to visit Pyeongyang.
At the lower level, the State Department said it's ready to resume working-level talks with North Korea at a time and place agreed by the two countries.
Kim Hyo-sun reports.
U.S. President Donald Trump says he's not yet ready to visit North Korea to hold summit talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Speaking at the White House on Monday,...Trump said it's not yet the right time to visit Pyeongyang.
His remarks come as Kim reportedly invited Trump to visit Pyeongyang in a letter sent in August.
Citing an unidentified source,... Reuters explained that in his letter,... Kim spoke of his desire for a third summit,... while extending an invitation for Trump to visit North Korea.
On a related note, the U.S. State Department said Monday that it's ready to resume denuclearization talks with Pyeongyang.
This was in response to a statement issued by North Korea's foreign ministry that called on Washington to remove all threats and hurdles to resuming working-level talks.
The statement came after an offer by the North's First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui to resume talks at the end of September.
A State Department spokesperson told South Korea's Yonhap News Agency that Washington welcomes Pyeongyang's commitment to resume talks,... adding the U.S. is ready to sit down at a time and place to be agreed.
During a phone call with Japan's new foreign minister on Monday,... U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reiterated their shared goal of achieving North Korea's final and fully verified denuclearization.
Pompeo also emphasized Washington's determination to cooperate with Tokyo on a wide range of regional and global issues.
Kim Hyo-sun, Arirang News.